


who let the dogs out

by theamazingpeterparker



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Drabble, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Puppies, Schmoop, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, literally puppies and ziall what more do you want
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-21
Updated: 2014-08-21
Packaged: 2018-02-14 04:02:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2177187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theamazingpeterparker/pseuds/theamazingpeterparker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zayn wants a puppy and Niall's a huge pushover.</p>
            </blockquote>





	who let the dogs out

**Author's Note:**

> all i have to say about this is that i watched dogs 101 videos on youtube for an hour before i could decide on a breed for them and also im sorry

Zayn and Niall’s new landlord changes the flat policies. It’s not a big deal to Niall, and he doesn’t think it’s a big deal to Zayn either, honestly. Until Zayn barges home one day, face unreadable until he blurts, “did you read the new policies?”

Niall glances up from his laptop, smirks but humors him anyway. “Yes, because I distinctly remember that you did not so I had to read it and sign for both of us. Are you mad about the new no-smoking rule?”

Zayn’s face drops for a second, screws up into a frown and he mutters, “what? that’s _bullshit_ ” and then apparently remembers his original mission and shakes his head. “No, no. Did you know there’s pets allowed now? Ms. Baxter downstairs got a cat.”

Niall’s still not quite following but Zayn’s obviously worked up about it, so he shuts his computer and leans back in his chair, hooks his hands behind his head and asks, “so….you want to get a fish or something.”

Zayn doesn’t laugh, which is how Niall knows this is More Than A Temporary Obsession, like the week where Zayn completed four 2500-piece jigsaw puzzles and almost murdered Louis for hiding the last piece in their bathroom cabinet.

“So…..you want…?” Niall offers, and waits until Zayn exhales _canwegetadog_. It visibly takes Niall a few moments to disassemble the sentence and when he does he can’t help but smile wider. “You. Want us. _To get a dog_?” Usually with his emphasis, Zayn realises how strange his request is, (“You want us to go to _Texas_?” “You want to get a _tattoo_ of your girlfriend?” “You want to mix vodka _and_ tequila?”), but this time he stands his ground and nods enthusiastically, looks like he did back in sixth grade before a field trip to the zoo.

Niall laughs, a knee-kick reaction to Zayn’s pout but the older man just slouches and sticks his bottom lip out, whines Nialllllllll the way he does in the morning when Niall won’t share his pancakes or when he steals all the covers at night. “Please, Niall? You know how bad I’ve wanted a dog since we graduated, our place is big enough for one…”

Niall never outright says no but he isn’t pouncing on yes either, so Zayn spends the rest of the night following Niall around hanging off his back and making arguments that a ten year old would make, “I’ll train it all by myself, I’ll feed it and clean up after it and take it to the vet and take really, really good care of it, Ni…”

Niall just lets him talk, it’s the most that Zayn has talked in a month about anything for more than an hour, they go to bed with Zayn’s arms around Niall’s waist nuzzling into his neck and mumbling _you know when the bedroom gets real cold in the winter and you steal all the covers? if we had a dog I could cuddle with, i wouldn’t have to kick you in your sleep_ and Niall just asks _are you saying you’re into beastiality or some shite, Z?_ and that’s the end of the conversation for the night, Zayn huffing his laughter into Niall’s hair before his breathing evens out and Niall can slide the covers onto his side of the bed without getting kicked in the shin.

Zayn doesn’t drop the dog thing for three days, starts leaving 100 Cutest Puppy Clips open on Youtube and starts leaving open DVD cases of _101 Dalmatians_ and _Airbud_ out on the coffee table. There’s a day of silence, a week after he first brings it up, and Niall thinks the obsession has ran it’s course and they can get back to normal. It’s not until Harry and Louis come over for dinner that Niall realizes this whole dog thing is just getting started, Harry and Zayn exchange a look over their slices of pizza and Harry clears his throat, tilts his head towards Niall and asks, “have you guys thought about getting any pets?”

“Oh my god,” Niall and Louis say at the same time, rolling their eyes to glare at their significant others, Louis sighing at Harry “do you know the meaning of the word _subtle_ , H?” and Niall raising his eyebrows at Zayn asking, “Really?”

“We have Payno, Zayn, he’s puppy enough. You really want to try to train another idiotic living creature? Didn’t you just teach Niall to flush after he uses the potty, anyway?” Louis snips, grins at Niall around his crust of pizza.

“You wouldn’t….have to get a puppy?” Harry offers, looks to Zayn for encouragement and gets an enthusiastic nod in reply, finishes his thought, “you could always get, like, an older dog. From the shelter, one that’s already trained or whatever.”

Zayn and Harry high five and Niall buries his face in his hands, comes up smiling anyway and shaking his head. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?” he asks Zayn, can’t quite hide the affection in his voice and Zayn just beams at him.

Zayn talks to Niall incessantly about the dog he had growing up, and Niall remembers him, an old rescue pitbull named Chief they had to put to sleep when Zayn and Niall were in eighth grade, always slept in Zayn’s room and Niall would wrestle with him. Chief always won, would sit on his chest and lick his face afterwards. Zayn’s family never got a dog after that, Zayn had a lizard through college and then he and Niall won a carnival goldfish their first year in uni that they cherished for the three weeks it stayed alive. The only thing since uni that they’ve kept alive is a potted plant in the kitchen that Harry gave them as a housewarming gift, which didn’t surprise either of them at all.

Zayn’s hints get less and less subtle after that, singing the Sarah McLachlan songs and hanging up two puppy calendars in the kitchen and in the living room. Niall still hasn’t said no, knows deep down that he’s going to end up saying yes anyway, but he likes seeing Zayn be so passionate about something. Harry joins Team Dog not long after their dinner, emailing Niall clips of rescue dogs being adopted and taken home and wikipedia articles about breeds that are best for apartment living. Niall continues to show complete apathy to the entire situation, only reads Harry’s articles on his phone when Zayn’s at work and goes to the animal shelter in a hoodie and sunglasses to ask about the dogs they have there.

Zayn eventually settles for a list of breeds and names on the fridge because he knows Niall well enough to know that he’s not going to last too much longer. The list is half-serious considerations and half-Louis, their friend slipping off to the kitchen whenever he visits and by the end of the night there’s another three possible names for the dog jotted on the list, _Louis Jr, Cat, George Washington the Second,_ notes such as _buy a chihuahua and name it Giant_ in the corner from Harry.

“What about a golden retriever?” Zayn asks one day, looks up from his phone over at Niall. Niall can’t look at him, just turns the page in his magazine but can’t help the smile that creeps across his face when he replies, “too hyper.”

Zayn hesitates, realises what Niall just said and then drops the magazine, launches himself across the room onto the couch and tackles Niall into a hug. “Is that a yes? _Is that a yes, Niall_?”

Niall can’t stop laughing long enough to answer, finally steadies Zayn on his lap and presses his thumbs into the dip of Zayn’s hips under his sweatshirt. “Not a golden retriever, though. You’re hyper enough, yeah?”

(Truthfully, Zayn isn’t surprised at all. He pegged to crack Niall in a month, tops, even if it took daily blowjobs and lots of begging. Zayn blows him in the shower that night anyway. It’s the least he can do.)

It’s still a long process, getting a dog. Niall doesn’t really consider all of the planning that goes into it once he actually says _yes, Zayn, we can get a dog_. Then again, Zayn and Harry might be taking it a little too far, and Louis constantly reminds them both that it’s a dog, not a baby, which ends with Harry and him bickering and Harry insisting that _dogsitting and babysitting are practically the same thing, all you have to do is feed them and clean up after them, right_?

They’ve narrowed down their breed lists to the smaller dogs they had at the shelter, spend most of their nights over dinner bickering about whether to get a boy or a girl, a puppy or an older dog. It makes Niall feel kind of ridiculous when they go to Pets At Home to buy a bed and food bowls and end up loitering around for half an hour because Zayn wants to pet every single dog that comes in the store, goes from owner to owner asking “Can I pet your dog?” and Niall following close behind him apologising, “sorry about him. He’s just lonely.”

There’s a woman with a great dane, the dog standing up to her waist and Zayn and Niall watch her walk it down the aisle of toys before Zayn gasps _canIpetyourdog_ and the woman laughs, tells him the dog’s name is Oliver and that he’s a gentle giant. There’s another man walking a collie who Zayn practically jumps on to ask to pet. By the time they get home, their list has gone from _chihuahua_ and _pug_ and _welsh corgi_ to _great dane, dalmatian, alaskan malamute._ Niall threatens to break up with Zayn if he ever pets so many dogs in one day again.

There’s a few days of hesitation, all the supplies bought and a veterinarian found and all that’s left to do now is actually…get the dog. Zayn’s bouncing around about it, bugs Niall to go every day he gets home but it’s always too late, the shelter closed or something comes up that they can’t go to pick a dog together and bring it home.

Niall gets home earlier than Zayn, so when Zayn texts him _where are you?_ Niall lies, _tells him picking up dinner_ and then slides his phone back into his pocket, crouches down to look at the three month old great dane puppy staring back at him. The guy walking him through the shelter tells Niall that she's a new addition, her previous owners abandoning her as soon as she started to grow and they didn't realize just how big she was going to get. She’s this little speckled gray and black thing, licks Niall's hand eagerly and crawls into his lap as soon as Niall steps into the play area with her and Niall is immediately and completely in love. The guy makes sure he's got the right supplies and Niall reassures him that he and his boyfriend have everything except the dog. He pays for her license and a bag of Large Breed puppy food, doesn't have a leash with him so she rides home on his lap.

He doesn’t pick up dinner but he figures Zayn won’t be too upset when he carries the squirming puppy to their flat, kicks the door because his hands are full and he hears a vague shout from inside and then Zayn’s tripping to the door, shirtless and sleep-rumpled. “Where have you been? I was waiting for dinner and I fell asleep on--”

Niall thrusts the dog into Zayn’s arms and he squeals a soft _ohmygod_ and grins up at Niall, absolutely lights up and brings the dog to his chest and leans in for a fast kiss that breaks because the puppy’s licking his collarbone and he’s too excited. Niall just shuts the door behind him and leans against the doorframe, watches Zayn place the dog carefully onto the floor and scuttle along behind her as she sniffs out the living room. Niall can picture it now, honestly, when she’s fully grown she’s easily going to take up the entire couch and most of their already-crammed apartment and Niall can’t wait, really, can’t wait to watch Zayn train her like he trained Chief and for Harry and Louis and Liam to meet her.

“What are we going to name her?” Niall asks quietly, more caught up in watching Zayn gently guide the dog around the couch than he is watching the actual dog.

“Scooby,” Zayn says immediately without looking up, picks up the puppy and lays down on the couch, places her on his chest where she jumps forward to lick his nose.

“Scooby was a boy,” Niall points out, walks over and nudges for Zayn to move his legs so he can sit down at the end of the couch. Zayn doesn’t answer for a minute, Niall half-expecting a rant about who cares what Scooby was, Niall but he just shrugs and scratches at the dog’s ears and she nuzzles into his neck and lays down ontop of him.

“She’s a Great Dane, Niall! Are you telling me you got a great dane without any intention to name her something after Scooby Doo?”

“I was thinking Marmaduke, to be honest,” Niall replies, gives Zayn a wicked smile. “Or Fang.”

“Does that make me Hagrid, then?”

Niall shrugs, reaches over to scratch down the dog’s spine and rap his fingers against Zayn’s boney kneecap. “Or she could be Ace the Batdog. And your could be Batman and I could be Robin.”

Zayn looks like he’s seriously considering that, and because Niall knows Zayn’s brain so well he knows that that decision would eventually lead to the three of them dressing up for Halloween and as much as he’d like to see Zayn in a spandex leather costume, Niall’s not too keen on green and red tights and capes for himself.

“Velma, then.”

Zayn smiles immediately at that, eyes crinkling up and he kisses the puppy’s head, says “Velma?” and she cocks her head, wiggles forward to lick his face again. “You’re a smart one, aren’t you, love? Velma, then.”

Harry and Louis fall in love with her immediately, of course, and by her second week living with them she has full reign of the whole flat, quickly figuring out that she fits much better in Zayn and Niall’s bed than she does alone out in her dogbed, and she’s just tall enough to rest her head on the coffee table and look dejectedly across at Niall with her big brown eyes when he’s eating chicken nuggets. Niall’s certain she learned the expression from Zayn.

Niall and Velma roughhouse in front of the TV when he gets home from work, crawling around on the floor while Zayn watches from the couch and Velma pounces on Niall, and within a month she’s big enough to take him down. “Don’t teach her to be rough, Ni,” Zayn will tell him every night, but there’s no weight to his words and Niall can hear the smile in his voice when Velma gives a little woof before trying to capture Niall’s hand between her paws.

The only thing that takes them by surprise, even though it obviously shouldn’t, is how big she gets. By the time she’s six months old they can hardly pick her up anymore. They also find out, when she’s six months old, that she really likes water. They finally manage to take her to the park by their flat, take her off the leash because she’s learned by now to not leave Zayn’s side. That is, until Niall launches the tennis ball straight into the pond and Velma bounds after it without any hesitation. When Niall and Zayn try coaxing her out of the pond she tackles them both and drops the tennis ball on Niall’s chest proudly.

Zayn figures that since Velma’s such a couch potato most of the time, sticking her in the bathtub won’t be that bad.

As soon as Niall turns the faucet on she starts barking, trying to bite at the water and slipping around clumsily in the porcelain tub, looking up at Zayn and Niall like _this is the greatest adventure ever_ and she starts to chew on Zayn’s orange loofa. Eventually Niall decides he’s just going to climb into the tub with her and hold her still while Zayn wrestles with the showerhead, and it ends with Velma pinning Niall down in the water and licking all the mud off his face and chest while Zayn sprays them both, the entire bathroom flooded and muddied with Velma still dirty from the chest up. They end up taking her down to the courtyard and sponging her down with the garden hose, which is probably what they should have done in the first place. (Next time Harry and Louis dogsit, Niall leaves a note that reads _Velma loves baths, she’s totally chill and easy to clean if she gets messy. Just stick her in the tub_.)

Zayn hadn’t been lying about taking care of her when he was begging Niall for the dog, Velma’s easy to train and she and Zayn are soon on a different wavelength than her and Niall. She adjusts easily and fits in better than they could have hoped for, and she’s way more entertaining than a potted plant.

Zayn was right about their sleeping situation. Every night before bed the two boys will brush their teeth and Velma will sit patiently outside the door for them, wait until both Zayn and Niall are settled in bed before she’s invited to jump up. She sleeps nestled between them, sometimes, or draped across their legs, a warm fuzzy weight between them even on the coldest nights. Zayn just nestles himself between Velma and Niall, presses  his back against the dog’s and keeps Niall against his chest. Zayn doesn’t kick him anymore when Niall takes all the blankets in his sleep.

  



End file.
